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Neither man backs down, and I seriously think they’re going to come to blows.
My gaze bounces around and I notice that the entire club is out here, but thankfully, the Johnson Chasers aren’t. Then again, they’re probably sleeping everything off after what they do each night for the single guys.
A roar brings my attention back to Kai and the other man as they start fighting. Though I am surprised that Kai doesn’t throw a single punch. A couple of punches land, but I have the sneaky suspicion that Kai let them land.
A strong arm bands around my waist, and my throat feels raw. It’s then that I realize the other voice that’s screaming is mine, as he holds me back from running toward them.
“Stop! Please, stop!”
Both men surprisingly stop, but not before mystery man lands a sucker punch to Kai’s jaw. They both stare at me as I wonder what I’ve torn apart by accepting Kai’s declaration of him adopting me as his sister.
Why is it that everything I touch and every relationship I have seems to dissolve before my eyes?
Another pit forms in my stomach as I wonder how long Liam will stick around when my past finally catches up to us. Is our love strong enough to withstand it?
I knew when Erik found out I’d adopted Mae as our sister that he was going to blow a gasket. That’s why I didn’t tell him on the phone when we talked. I wanted to do it face to face. It’s just, I thought I had another week to figure outhowto tell him that. Instead, he cuts his trip short and the first thing he does when he sees me is sucker punches me. Somehow, he’d found out about me adopting Mae into our family and was fucking pissed.
I let a few of his punches land, but we both know that’s all I’ll let slide. Even if I don’t throw a punch in return.
A gut wrenching scream rips my attention away from my brother and my chest tightens when I see Lil’ Bit struggling to get out of Timber’s iron grip. Tears streak down her face as she continues to scream for us to stop.
My distraction earns me a punch to my jaw that has black dots swirling around my vision.
“Stop! Please, stop!,” she begs.
Seconds later, a familiar voice rings through the air. “Enough!” Pops roars.
He stalks up to us, leveling a dark glare at Erik.
“No one is being replaced, my son. Our family grew when your brother decided to adopt Mae into our family. The woman who was hell bent on getting between you two when you let your emotions cloud your mind and attacked your brother.”
Erik looks around before his gaze settles on Lil’ Bit, who’s still struggling to get out of Timber’s grasp, tears still streaking down her face. He’s talking quietly in her ear, but I’m not sure if she’s actually hearing him.
Surprisingly, a strangled noise escapes Erik and I wonder if he’s feeling the same pull to her that I did. While yes, she’s fucking gorgeous, I don’t look at her that way. From the first moment I saw her, I felt a pull to her.
A pull to be a friend.
A brother.
A protector.
I adopted her because I got the sense that she was alone in the world, aside from Timber, and needed a family.
I didn’t adopt her as my sister to replace Frida, Erik’s twin sister who died a few years ago at the hands of her abusive boyfriend.
Despite my rough exterior and the fact that I’m the Enforcer for our club, only a few have seen the real me.
Namely my family.
The second my gaze locked with Mae’s at the competition, and later after talking to her, I knew she’d seen through all of that and saw me. The real me. And the pain and heartbreak I saw in her pulled on my protectiveness big time.
Yes, a part of me wants to save her from her asshole stepfather and the man, or possibly men, that want to buy her. The part of me that was always protective of my sister but in the end, couldn’t save her.
I know Frida’s death is not my fault. She hid her pain well. Too well. None of us realized how bad it was until it was too late. To say that Erik, my dad, and I took out our vengeance on that prick tenfold is an understatement. But at least the asshole won’t be hurting any other women anymore.
“Yes, I see now you understand why your brother adopted her. Mae, or Lil’ Bit, as we’ve all affectionately come to call her, is not a replacement for Frida. Once you’ve sorted through your emotions, talk to her, get to know her, and you’ll come to understand that, too,” he says, clasping a giant hand on Erik’s shoulder and then mine.
“I expect you to make amends,” he pauses, his attention turning back to Erik. “If you cannot, then you will be civil when she is around, because whether you like it or not, she is family and she isn’t going anywhere.”
